Desperate Times
by xwolfiehudgens09
Summary: Gabriella Montez is sick and tired of being a third wheel, not being able to have a… successful love life. Same goes for Troy Bolton; every girl he has asked out takes a bad turn and doesn't really end well. What happens when their friends set them up on a blind date?
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary**_: Gabriella Montez is sick and tired of being a third wheel, not being able to have a… successful love life. Same goes for Troy Bolton; every girl he has asked out takes a bad turn and doesn't really end well. What happens when their friends set them up on a blind date?

**Disclaimer**: Just thought I'd add this in to assure some of you. I clearly do not own High School Musical, or the characters whatsoever unless stated otherwise.

**Author's Note**: This is a little story I decided to write. Nothing special, since I'm sure there are many other stories involving a blind date. Tell me what you think after reading the entire chapter.

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_Chapter One: Can't be Serious – Gabriella's Point of View_

* * *

"Gabi! Chad's going to be here in twenty minutes! Wake up!" I heard Taylor yell.

Sighing, I threw the covers off of my body and leisurely let my legs dangle off the edge of the bed. It was almost eleven thirty, but hey, can't blame me for wanting to sleep in on a Saturday morning. Weekends were the only chance I don't have to get up early for my classes and I didn't have to go to work.

As I stood in the bathroom, I brushed my teeth and mentally asked myself why I agreed with Taylor to going to the mall with her and Chad. They've been dating for almost a year now, maybe ten months so far. He's a pretty cool guy, with some mean basketball skills. My family has always been interested in basketball, and I remember challenging him on a one on one game in the park. Taylor wasn't rooting for me as messed up as that sounds since we've been friends for nearly a decade, but I won.

Twenty minutes later, I followed Taylor out the door and sat in the back seat of the car. One thing about the mall is you've got to look decent. You don't know who you'll run into, but you can't risk it. My hair was in waves, I was wear some gold dangly earrings, a crochet top with a white camisole beneath it, skinny jeans, and wedges.

"Hey Gabs," Chad greeted once I saw him leave a kiss on his girlfriend's cheek.

I smiled, "Hey Chad. Hope you don't mind me asking, but why did you tell us half an hour ago you were going to pick us up to go to the mall?"

He shrugged his shoulders as he drove, "its Saturday," he simply said. Once he got to a red light he stopped and looked at me in the review mirror, "Why? Did you want to sleep in?"

"Yeah, I actually did. But Taylor here," I gestured to her, "Said and I quote 'You can't say no whatsoever because we don't want you to be alone."

"Which is what a true friend says!" Taylor defended, "I'm sorry Gabi but don't you remember junior year?"

I nodded my head softly, "Yeah… Yeah. I'm sorry, you are a true friend. I didn't mean to come off as rude or anything like that."

She smiled at me from over her shoulder, "You weren't rude. Will it feel better if we buy you lunch?"

Laughing, I nodded my head again. "Of course it will."

Several minutes later, we stood in the mall and looked around. It was packed. Not packed as if it was Christmas shopping, but just how it is on weekends. Taylor and Chad were having their own conversation, leaving me out of it. I opened my mouth to say something, only for them to start walking away.

I didn't know what to do. If I should follow them, or go off on my own. But I remembered they offered to buy me lunch, so I quickly walked up behind them.

"Are you guys still buying me lunch?" I smiled.

Chuckling, Chad nodded. "Guess so Gabs. What do you want to eat?"

_**Sipping**_ on my bottled water, I looked over at the lovely couple in front of me for the billionth time in the past hour. They were caught up in telling me stories that I've heard way too many times. It was sweet, because every story involved the both of them. Like how they met, terrible dates, embarrassing moments in front of each other. It made my teeth rot.

Maybe if I got up without my chair making a sound I can get away from them.

Yeah, that sounds good.

I cautiously stood up and put the strap of my bag over my shoulder, holding my water bottle with one hand and fixing my hair with the other. But, the plan did not go as planned. Since both of them looked up at me immediately.

"Where you going?" Taylor asked.

"I'm just going to look around. I'll let you guys have some alone time and when you guys want to leave just call me and we can meet in the parking lot," I smiled softly.

"Gabi," Taylor started.

I held up a hand to stop her from talking, "No, no. It's fine. You guys deserve some alone time. I'm always around. I need to look for some new jeans anyways… So I'll see you guys later."

Without letting them say anything else, I turned around and walked out of the food court. Sighing, I knew I'd get a small lecture from Taylor once we get home. This isn't the first time I let them have time to their selves.

So I made my time useful, by walking in and out of shops. An hour later I had two new pairs of jeans, one was acid wash and the other was boyfriend fitted. I had one new dress, it was white and it stopped at my mid-thigh. It was long sleeved, and it's flowy, and it's super comfortable. I also bought new aviators and a pair of black five inch pumps.

As I walked out of the final store, I heard my phone ring in my bag.

"Hello?" I asked once I answered it, not bothering to look if there was a caller ID or not.

"Gabi!"

I laughed, "Shar! What's up?"

Sharpay has been a close friend since High School. We never got along the first couple years, but in the end we were practically forced to get to know each other. We actually had a long in common, and found ourselves asking why we hated each other in the first place.

"Um," I heard her say with some shuffling on her end of the phone. "The gang is having dinner tonight at Zeke's dad's diner. Do you want to come?"

"Of course! You know how I love his dad's cooking," We both laughed. "What time?"

"At eight. Can you also ask Chad and Taylor?"

Looking around, I caught sight of the couple. "Yeah. I'll tell them to text you if they can. See you soon." With that I hung up the phone and walked over.

"Did you buy me anything?" Chad asked, grabbing for my shopping bags.

I giggled softly, shaking my head. "Nope, not today. But Sharpay just called and was wondering if you guys wanted to go eat dinner at Zeke's family restaurant."

They stilled for a second, before nodding quickly. "Oh, yeah. We'll go."

I nodded, "Good. Text her so she knows you'll be going."

_**A**_ couple minutes before eight, we pulled up in the parking lot of the diner. The diner reminded me of the ones you see in the fifties. It had a rock n roll theme, and they served delicious milkshakes. It was quite expensive, four bucks, but it's worth it every single time I have one. I was wearing my new white dress because I couldn't resist. Yet I held off of wearing the heels and went with my brown gladiator sandals instead.

Chad and Taylor were still in the car once I climbed out, so I decided to go in and see who was there. I walked in, fixing my straightened hair and saw Sharpay and Zeke at the counter speaking with his dad. They looked at me, and immediately straightened their backs and smiled.

"Hey guys," I smiled back. I quickly walked over and enveloped each of them with a hug.

"Hey Gabi," they both said simultaneously.

Sharpay looked behind me, "Where's Taylor and Chad?"

"Um," I looked out the window and didn't see their car there anymore, making me raise an eyebrow. "They were just here… maybe Chad forgot something back at our place. You know how he is."

Zeke chuckled, "That's Chad alright. Well I'm going to go check out the kitchen, see if my dad needs any help." He said before walking into the kitchen.

"Let's sit over here," Sharpay said and lead me to a booth.

I followed, and sat across from her. Sharpay tended to go dye her hair a lot. Not crazy colors though, thankfully. She switched it from brown to blonde about every six months. Her hair was currently blonde. She was wearing a black and pink tube top and a black sequined mini skirt.

"I love your dress. Is it new?"

Nodding, I glanced down at my dress. "Yup. I just bought it today actually."

She giggled softly.

"So how are you and Zeke?"

Her smile grew wider, "We're great. Our two year anniversary is coming up and I can't wait. I bought him a new apron and a whole bunch of baking utensils he wanted to get a few months ago."

"Aw, that's so sweet. I'm sure he'll love it."

Speaking of 'he', Zeke came up to the table. He kissed Sharpay on the forehead. "Any drinks to start off the night ladies?"

"Iced tea for me," Sharpay said and grabbed for Zeke's hand.

"Uh… chocolate milkshake for me."

Few minutes later, Zeke walked out and handed us our drinks. He gave Sharpay a look and she nodded, but I shrugged it off as I took a sip of the shake and sighed in pleasure.

"Gabriella," Sharpay said.

I watched as she stood up, holding her glass of iced tea. I looked at her, raising an eyebrow and held the bottom of my drink. "What's wrong Shar?"

"Please don't be mad at me, this wasn't my idea, but we just want you to be happy-"

Looking at her confused, I shifted. "Sharpay, what are you talking about?"

"You didn't come here tonight for a dinner with the six of us. We invited you here to go on a date."

My eyes widened slightly, "A date? A blind date? Sharpay, you can't be serious. I can't go on dates, and I don't want to." I stood up to leave, but she put a hand on my shoulder and pushed me down gently.

"Gabi, please. We see how you look when it's just the seven of us. Me and Zeke, Kelsi and Ryan, Taylor and Chad. I know you feel lonely, don't deny it." She sighed, "This was Taylor's idea and I wanted to help her because I just want you to be happy…"

"Sharpay, I am happy. You guys make me happy. And I don't have time to date. I have my classes to deal with and a part time job, and-"

"I don't want to sound rude, but we may not always be there… for you. You're twenty five, and you haven't dated anyone since high school. That was a while back, Gabi. You deserve a chance. Things may not have worked out back then, and you work so hard. Just give this guy and yourself a chance? Please? He isn't that bad of a guy, I promise. He's a close friend of Zeke and Chad, and everyone else already met him."

"Everyone but not me?"

She nodded slowly, "Yeah. We hung out with him when you went to New York with your mom." She took a sip of her drink, "He's a workaholic too. You too will get along."

I sighed, "How long would this date last?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. An hour, I guess. He should be here any minute."

I nodded, fixing my hair and glancing towards the door.

"You'll be fine… he's friendly, like you. He has chestnut brown hair, bright blue eyes, and he told me he'd be wearing a navy blue button up." She looked at me, "I'm going to go now, Zeke's waiting out back. Promise me you won't leave?"

"Promise, Shar. I said I'd give him and myself a chance, yeah?"

She smiled and bent down, giving me a hug. "Yay. Text me when the date's over."

The chimes rung, meaning someone walked in.

"Good luck, bye." Sharpay said and she quickly walked into the kitchen.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Still do not own High School Musical's characters.

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much for the reviews, favorites, and follows. I wanted to update this story yesterday but I wasn't able to log onto my computer. Hopefully this chapter turns out as I planned… Make sure to tell me what you think, and if you want to read more once you finish giving it a read!

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_Chapter Two: Mutual - Gabriella's Point of View_

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I cursed under my breath as Sharpay left. She knew how to make me nervous, and I hated it. Or maybe I'm just nervous because I'm actually going on a date. With someone I don't know at all, and I have no idea what his name is.

Shifting in my seat nervously, I fumbled with the bangles that were on my wrist. Until I heard someone clear their throat, making me turn my head. My eyes gazed up from their legs, and next thing you know I was staring into piercing blue eyes. Wow.

He smiled. Oh man, his smile. "Hey, I'm Troy… are you Gabriella?"

I nodded my head, smiling too; maybe a bit wider than usual. I couldn't find my voice all of a sudden, as if he sucked all of the air. I couldn't breathe.

Troy chuckled, "Hi." He said simply.

Oh!

I blushed, standing up. I grabbed his awaiting hand and shook it gently, trying to ignore the shocks running through my veins. "Hi, uh, sorry. Just, um."

"Nervous?" He questioned as he made a hand gesture for us to sit.

We both sat down, and I laughed softly. Nodding my head once again. "Yeah. I haven't been on a date for a while so I forgot how to react and things like that."

He grinned, "Nah. It's cool."

Before we were able to say anything, a waitress walked up to the table. Her name was Suzette and she had long dark brown hair that ended in blonde ombre.

"Good evening to the two of you," she smirked at me. "What can I get started for you? Like a drink?"

I looked over at Troy, since I already had my drink.

"What did you get, Gabriella?" He asked as he glanced at the glass in my hand.

"A chocolate milkshake."

"I'll have one of those."

Suzette nodded before walking into the kitchen.

"So," he started and crossed his arms on the table before leaning over slightly. "Tell me about yourself, Gabriella. Like what you do for living, kinky interests, where you grew up."

We both laughed.

I took a sip from my drink before sitting up and leaning over. "For one thing, I don't really like being called Gabriella. I feel like I'm a little kid getting in trouble by my parents."

He chuckled, "Okay. Um, what about Brie? Can I call you that?"

_That's a first_. I thought to myself. I assumed he'd call me Ella, Gabi, or Elle. "Yeah," I nodded and sent him a kind smile that he adorably returned. "I'd like that."

"Cool. So Brie-"

"Here is your chocolate milkshake," Suzette said as she approached the table holding a straw and the glass.

"Thanks," Troy said once she put it on the table.

"What do you guys like to eat?"

Oh. We totally forgot about that. And he probably thought the same, because we grabbed for the menu at the same time. I didn't miss the laugh I heard from Suzette as we looked at the entrees.

"I'll have the number one," We both said at the same time. Causing the both of us to look at each other, and our cheeks turn a shade of red.

"Um, alright?" Suzette said as her laughter died down, grabbing the menus. She walked away, and we slowly looked at each other.

"Wow, I like you so far Brie." Troy chuckled, "The girls I've usually taken out on a date would never eat a burger and fries in front of me."

I smiled, nodding. "I figured. Those girls are more like the salad type?"

He nodded, "Yup. So Brie, would you mind telling me what you do for living? Kinks you're interested in? Where you grew up?"

Giggling softly, I played with the straw to keep my gaze off of his eyes. "Um, I'm studying to become a lawyer. I'm in my last year, because I had a late start. No. I don't have any kinky things I'm into. Or I don't know, actually." I stuck my tongue out at him when I heard him snicker. "And I was born on December fourteenth, in California but my parents wanted a change so they decided on Albuquerque because we have some family here. We moved when I was about three, I think, and right now I'm twenty five." Looking up, I found his gaze upon me. As if he was staring right through me. "Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, snapping himself out of his trance. "Huh? Oh, no, uh sorry. Just," he chuckled. "I got lost in your eyes. You're beautiful, did you know that?"

I blushed, taking a sip of my drink and nodded gently. "I do now, thanks Troy."

He grinned, hesitantly reaching his hand out and within seconds he grabbed for mine. He then lifted it up to press a faint kiss on it.

"Tell me about yourself. It's unfair that you know that stuff about me while I know nothing about you but your name."

Troy laughed, and kept his grip on my hand gentle. "Okay fine. I'm a writer for this local news blog online. It wasn't my first choice, and I honestly never thought I'd be a writer. When I was in high school I was so into basketball, so I went to college. Survived for a semester, before I realized it wasn't for me. It was a hobby but something I didn't picture myself doing for the rest of my life."

I nodded in understanding, "I know how you feel."

He looked up at me from our hands, and smiled. "Mhm, so I'm a writer… Maybe you will find out all the kinky things I'm into if we get to that level," He winked playfully causing me to laugh and use my free hand to hit his arm. "I was born October eighteenth in California, but my dad got an offer to teach here so we moved when I was probably ten. And I'm twenty six."

_**So**_ far the date's been going pretty well. We both enjoyed dinner, and realized Suzette gave us a discount where we only had to pay about ten dollars rather than twenty five dollars. We even argued on who will be paying, because it was only ten dollars. I wanted to pay but he mentioned a true gentleman always pays for dinner.

In the end he won. We walked out of the diner, hand in hand with his smile bright and wide because I gave up arguing.

"You're terrible, Troy Bolton. It was only ten dollars…"

He laughed as he looked down at me, "Yeah Brie. It was only ten dollars, no big deal. You got to leave the tip, so we both paid anyways."

"Fine," I leaned up and kissed his cheek.

"Do you have a ride home?"

I stopped for a moment, thinking back. "Actually, no. My ride home ditched me once dropping me off here."

He nodded and started leading me to his car. "I'll give you a ride then."

After we were both buckled up in the car, he started the engine and drove out of the parking lot. We didn't say much, just the faint sound of the music the radio plays a million times a day. I looked down at his hand, seeing it just rest on the arm rest. Hesitantly, I grabbed for his hand and intertwined our fingers before leaning back into the seat.

"Where are we going?" I asked, realizing he didn't ask directions to my place.

"The park," he glanced over at me. "If that's okay… if not I can just take you home-"

I smiled. Over dinner I can already tell when he was nervous or worried. He'd ramble, ask a bunch of questions, and say nonsense. It was really cute. "Troy, don't worry. It's fine. It's not like we're in High School and I have a curfew."

He laughed, soon pulling up in the park. "Love how you put it that way."

We climbed out of his car, and I watched as he walked to his trunk. He then pulled out a blanket, making me smile and hug his arm.

"Wow, seems like you had this night planned. Did you know I was going to agree to you giving me a ride home?"

"The fortune I found in my fortune cookie the other night may have said something about it."

Rolling my eyes playfully, I let go of his arm and stepped back once he found a spot to lay the blanket. The park wasn't huge, or should I say Central Park size. It was one of those neighborhood parks that would be packed in the afternoon filled with elderly couples, adults walking their dogs, and kids messing about.

He sat down on the blanket and soon laid down on his back, me cautiously following his lead due to me wearing a short dress. I turned over onto my side, wrapped an arm around his waist and put my head on his chest as we looked up at the stars.

I truly didn't expect the night to go like this. I thought this date would be a doozy, where we got along but there would be no spark so we wouldn't bother calling each other again for another date. But, it's only been two hours and I feel like I've known him for a while. He's funny, understanding, kind, caring, and clever. It's a surprise to know he was single once I looked at him when the date started.

"What are you thinking of?"

I looked at him, meeting his gaze. "How this date went so well."

"Same," he kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry about tonight though. I didn't know it was a blind date until Chad told me once I got there."

"Did they tell you it was supposed to be a dinner with the six of them?"

He nodded as I felt him play with a few strands of my hair. "Yeah, why?"

"Why don't we mess with them?" I smirked softly, "Since Sharpay wants me to tell her how the date went."

He reflected a soft smirk as well, nodding. "Sure. Chad wanted me to do the same."

I sat up and grabbed my phone, moving besides him as I went to my favorites list and tapped on Sharpay's name. I put it on speaker before leaning back on my arm that was in between the two of us, as the dial tone rung.

"It's about time! Do you realize it's almost eleven?! How did the date go?!" Typical Sharpay.

Sighing, I kept my gaze on Troy with a playful smirk. "Shar, it was terrible. It was downright awkward. I actually thought it was going to work out when I saw him but it just didn't feel right."

Troy pouted, causing me to bite on my bottom lip to stifle my laughter. Trying to be serious or else Sharpay would've caught the act.

"Aww. I'm sorry Gabi. We all thought he'd be the one for you. Guess we were wrong." I heard their voices on the other end of the phone.

"Whoa! The date didn't work out?!" We heard Chad yell, causing us to smile.

"No, Chad. It didn't. He's a nice guy but I didn't feel anything. At this point I need to because I'm twenty five and I'm pretty curious as to who I'll be marrying and when."

Hearing the rest of the gang groaning sadly, I glanced at Troy and he motioned for me to end the call.

"Hey guys, I have to go. I'm really tired and I actually want to sleep in tomorrow."

"Alright. Good night Gabi," Sharpay said and let the rest of them say Goodbye before ending the call.

I locked my phone and put it in my bag. Before sitting up straight and moving to sit across from him. "It's your turn now."

He nodded, before dialing Chad's number and putting it on speaker as he held the phone in the middle of us. It rung a few times before he picked up.

"Sup Troy," Chad's voice said. "We heard about the date. Sorry."

"Nah man, it's cool. I'm used to it," He sighed dramatically causing me to smile.

There was shuffling on the other end of the phone, "Hey I'm going to put you on speaker."

"Sure."

We heard Kelsi's soft voice, and then Zeke's. "What happened? Suzette told me you two seemed to be hitting it off."

"Uh" he glanced at me and I grabbed his free hand. "We got to know each other but I wasn't all that attracted to her, I guess. We're friends but I don't think we'll go on another date anytime soon."

"You guys would've been so cute!" Sharpay's voice erupted, causing me to laugh. Which was a terrible mistake. Oops. "Gabi?"

"Damn Brie, you ruined it." Troy said, looking at me with a playful disappointed look. I pushed his shoulder gently and moved to sit beside him again.

"Whoa, I'm confused." Chad said.

Shaking my head, that was typical Chad. "We were just joking, Chad. We made like the date went bad but it actually went really well," I said. Looking over at Troy who was looking right back at me.

We stared at each other for an extra few seconds, blocking out Chad and Sharpay's voices as we leant in closer to each other. My eyes closed slowly and soon our lips were pressed against each other's. His lips were so soft, making me not want to pull away anytime soon. I heard a soft thud then his hands were cupping my cheeks gently. Covering his hands with my own, I tilted my head slightly. One of his hands trailed downward to my waist, pulling me closer. Our bodies in a close embrace, and I nipped on his bottom lip. Slowly pulling away with it still softly in between my teeth.

"Damn," I heard him mutter his breath, causing me to smile with my eyes still closed. "You don't know what you do to me Brie."

"The feeling's mutual, Bolton." I whispered, opening my eyes and leaving a soft peck on his cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Sadly don't own High School Musical or its characters.

**Author's Note:** I am really sorry for not updating. It's been over a week. I've just been preparing for school since I start in a couple days. So, I'll have to have an updating schedule! Comment a day I should update, excluding the weekend and Friday! And this chapter isn't the best, I think of it as a filler with some back story to Troy and Gabriella's love life. So, my apologizes.

* * *

_Chapter Three: About You– Troy's Point of View_

* * *

"Chad! Where's my sunglasses!" I yelled in my _own _apartment.

It's been five days since the date with Gabriella and we've been doing well. We've both been busy with work, so we could only call and text each other whenever we're free. But luckily, I'm on my way to see her at work right now. If I could find the sunglasses Chad used yesterday.

"It was over here," I heard him say behind me. "It was on the coffee table, then I…"

"You what, Chad? I'm going to be late if I don't find them. I told Brie I was on my way to meet her at Starbucks ten minutes ago."

He chuckled and pats my shoulder, "Hey man, chill. I just think you should look on top of your head."

Raising an eyebrow, I cautiously raised my right arm to my head. Groaning to myself, I grabbed my sunglasses and looked at him. "Wow, thanks. I feel really stupid."

"One of us always does," He shrugged casually. "Now go on, we all know how Gabi gets upset if someone's late."

We both nodded, and did our handshake before I raced out the door.

_**S**_neaking up behind her, I wrapped both my arms around her gently and grinned as she jumped from the surprise and looked up at me. Her beautiful cocoa brown eyes staring directly into mine. She smiled and patted the seat next to her.

"Hey, I was starting to worry. Sit."

I kissed the top of her head, before moving around her seat and sitting down beside her. She grabbed my left hand and intertwined our fingers before looking towards the counter.

"Are you going to order anything?"

"Nope, I already had breakfast. But…" She looked at me curiously, "I'll just steal a couple sips from yours. If that's alright with you."

She giggled, and nodded. "Nah, that's cool with me. Go right ahead. It's just an iced coffee." She shifted in her seat, moving closer towards me. "I can't go a day without a cup of coffee. I only came to Starbucks because I ran out of coffee at home. I was going crazy while searching every inch of my kitchen."

I chuckled, caressing her hand with my thumb. "I'm sure a lot of people feel the same as you do. Did you buy more coffee though?"

"Not yet. Maybe after this I could go buy two bags instead."

"Why don't we go now?"

She looked at me, a little taken aback. "Seriously? You're okay with that?"

Nodding, I grabbed the Venti sized cup and took a sip. "Yeah, of course, Brie. I also some… things."

Laughing, she stood up and took the cup away from me. "Things? What things?"

"Oh, you're questioning me now?" I teased as we walked hand in hand out the door. Only to hear her laugh again.

"Yeah I am. What are you going to do about it?"

I smirked playfully, and shook my head. "I was going to buy you coffee that'll last you a lifetime but I guess with that attitude it's not going to happen anytime soon."

Her jaw dropped slightly, mouth agape. "Troy, I was just kidding. I don't have that kind of attitude, I-"

Cupping her cheeks, I cut her off by crashing my lips onto hers. Sealing her mouth shut any other works being spoken. I felt her lips move along with mine, slow and gentle, before I pulled away to look down at her. Her eyes were still shut, one hand grasping onto my wrist and the other still holding onto her drink with a loose grip.

"Brie?"

Slowly, her eyes opened. "Hm?"

I smiled and kissed her cheek before slowly stepping back, grabbing her hand again. "Where do you buy your groceries?"

Rolling her eyes, she shoved me gently; not even hard enough to make me stumble. "Why do I like you again?"

"Maybe it's because I'm a pretty awesome guy?"

"Sure," She laughed and pulled me towards the parking lot. "So, we came in two separate cars. Should we just meet each other there, or we take one car and we pick up the other one later?"

Letting go of her hand, I ended up wrapping my arms around her waist from behind. Placing my chin on top of her shoulder. "I don't want to let you go, so, let's just take my car."

"Hm, I figured. But you're carrying the bags later."

Smiling, I kissed her cheek. "Sounds good to me. My car is the dark blue one." I pointed it out, before wrapping my arm around her quickly again.

_**P**_ushing the cart in front of me, slightly leant over I watched as she looked at the several boxes on the shelf. Her hair was down, falling all the way to her lower back in her raven-colored hair in its natural curls. She was wearing a grey, green, and blue colored dress that fell a couple inches above her knees. With some black flats, I think they call it. She was simply… stunning. I thought the date was going to be terrible, since all the past dates I've been forced to go turned out to be a big mistake. Each girl had a turn off that made me add it to my pet peeve list.

"Troy? Troy… Troy." I heard Brie say, making me shake my head from my thoughts and look at her quickly.

"Huh?"

She smiled, putting a box of Pasta Salad mix in the wagon. "Welcome back to Earth, we've missed you."

"Glad you did." I chuckled, putting my foot on the bottom of the cart before using a hand to fix my hair.

"Did you hear my question, though?"

Slowly, I shook my head. "No… Was it an important question? If it was, I'm sorry."

Walking up to me, she wrapped her arm around mine before laying her head against it. Causing me to lean down and press a soft kiss to her forehead. "I was asking if you wanted to come to my place for dinner. Unless you already have some plans, then that's totally fine. Maybe another day."

Grinning, I stood up straight. "I don't have any plans tonight. I'd love to have dinner at your place."

"Yay," She laughed softly and pulled away. "What's your favorite food?"

"Honestly, I don't have a favorite. Or I just can't choose. Just say a food and I'll tell you if I like it."

She walked to the front of the cart, pulling it as a gesture for me to follow her. We ended up in the meat section and she gazed around the place, before looking back at me. "What about chicken?"

"I can consider that a favorite. Sure."

_**K**_nocking on the door of her apartment, I glanced down at my wrist watch. Brie apparently told me she wanted to do everything herself. As much as I tried to tell her I wanted to help, she refused. So here I am at her doorstep, holding a bouquet of flowers around six thirty. I was wearing a simple white button up collared shirt and dark wash jeans.

In a matter of seconds, the door swung open and there she was. She was only wearing a brown loose cropped sweater and denim shorts, with her hair in a ponytail. The smile spread across her lips was breathtaking, causing me to smile immediately.

"You look beautiful. These are for you."

She giggled, taking the flowers from me and grabbed my hand with her free one. "Thank you. You look handsome." A kiss was pecked on my cheek, "Come in. I was planning on wearing something else but it was getting hot from the stove and I wanted to be comfortable." She said as she pulled me into the apartment.

I shut the door, before looking around. "Wow, nice place. It's so organized compared to mine."

Looking back at me, she smiled once again. "Thanks. It was a mess the first few months I got it, but it bothered me so much so I put my free weekends and paycheck to use." She disappeared into the kitchen. "Shoes off, please!"

Quickly, I took off my shoes and left them near the wall by the door before walking further into the apartment. She had picture frames posted on the walls of her family, a dog, and her friends. Then I saw one of her, probably when she was around seventeen and I walked closer. Picking up the photo frame off the small table. She didn't look that different, but she was with someone. A boy way taller than her, kind of smiling in the picture, and they were holding hands. Her gaze wasn't fixed on the camera, instead it was on him.

"Dinner's ready so we can go ea- What are you looking at?"

Turning around, I looked at her. "Was this from high school?" I asked, holding the picture up for her to see.

Immediately, I saw her tense up and I sighed softly. I put the picture back down and walked up to her, putting my hands on her shoulders. "Brie…"

"I'm so sorry, um," She looked down and shook her head. "I didn't know you'd see that. It's not important."

Kissing her head, I pulled her closer to me. Her arms going around my body. "Want to talk about it? We don't have to, though."

She slowly nodded, and I heard her sniffle. I looked up, and gently pulled her towards her living room and made us both sit on the brown suede couch. She rubbed her eyes, some of her makeup coming off, but she looked up at me anyways. She grabbed my hands, and lifted her feet onto the couch to make herself comfortable.

"Have Sharpay or Chad ever told you, I don't really go out on dates that much?"

I nodded, "Chad may have mentioned."

"Well I haven't dated anyone since high school, so like… for four or five years I think. The girls tried to make me go on dates, to the point where they drag me to places like a restaurant or bar." She sighed, "That's because in high school, that guy you saw in the picture, broke me. I dated him since freshmen year up to junior year. He was on the football team, and he was obviously loved by a lot of girls. I felt special, because he stuck with me for basically three years. But one day I heard him talking to his friends about another girl. He was going on and on about how great she was, how she was in bed, how beautiful she looked. I thought it was me, until one guy asked _'What about Gabriella?'_" She slowly looked up at me, and I saw the pain her eyes. Causing me to let go of her hands, to wrap around her and pull her closer to me. "H-He was like, Gabriella? I've just been using her. She's like putty in my hands. She does anything and everything for me. And he laughed about it! He said more, but." Sighing, she stuffed her face in my chest. "It just hurts to hear him say it."

"Ever since then, I didn't want to fall in love. I felt so sure I was in love with him and he was in love with me, but it was just a game to him. He told them he was cheating on me for a year. A year, Troy. How could I be so stupid and not realize it sooner? I could've broken it off with him."

I shushed her, kissing her head. "Everything happens for a reason. Maybe it was a sign. A sign saying he wasn't the right guy. He didn't deserve you, Gabriella. Any guy should be grateful that you'd do anything for him. He took advantage of that, the love you gave him. You weren't stupid. He was."

She nodded, and I felt her hand on my back slowly moving up and down as I heard her sniffle. "You're right. Thank you. If it wasn't for that," She looked up at me, making me look at her as well. "I wouldn't have met you."

Grinning, I nodded and pecked her lips. "True. I'm glad you see it that way."

She giggled, and moved to sit on my lap. Her arms wrapped around my neck. "How could I not. You're like… a best friend too."

"We should get to know each other more too, then."

Nodding, she looked at me. "Let's play twenty one questions. Or as many questions, since who really counts twenty one questions?"

I hummed, "You got a point. You first, since I just learned something really important about you."

"Why did you get forced into our first date?"

"Knew this question was going to come up sooner or later." We smiled at each other, "I've gone on many dates. Maybe three dates a month. They were girls I met at the club when I went out with my friends, blind dates my coworkers set me up on. Every girl I dated, there was something I didn't like about them. They were pretty, not going to lie, but there was a single turn off with every single one. It bugged me. So I kept on trying and trying, but no luck. So I haven't dated anyone for a month, before Chad called me up for this dinner Zeke planned. I was like, sure, why not. And that's how I got to go on a date with you."

She laughed, "Wow. Great story, Bolton. But I'm glad those girls didn't meet your expectations."

I nodded, giving a childish smile. "Me too. Because you fit my expectations perfectly." I nuzzled my nose into the crook of her neck and pulled her closer to me.

Her fingers ran through my hair slowly, "You should know something really important though…"

Looking up at her, I pecked her lips. "What is it?"


End file.
